Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 takeaways from Game 5 vs. Rockets

2. Battle of the bigs decides the series

This series’ big storyline wasn’t necessarily the play of Harden or Chris Paul, but the battle between Capela and Towns was. Capela easily won this matchup throughout the series and it isn’t even up for debate. He shut Towns out so well that we were at times questioning if he was even on the court.

Towns was a lot better in Game 5 on offense. He shot the ball 9-for-14 from the field and 1-for-2 from 3-point range. He finished with a total of 23 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. It appears as if Towns played a pretty good game, but defensively he was pretty bad.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/989343800798732288

This wasn’t a play in which he was worked by Capela, but rather, a play where he completely fades out of the way to allow Harden to run right down the lane for the easy slam. Towns loves to go up and attempt to block shots, but that usually results in fouls or easy buckets for opposing players.

This play could of been as simple as just trying to contest the shot or even sliding in front and getting a body on Harden. Instead, much like a lot of the plays Wednesday night, Towns did a lot of watching.

Capela finished with a game-high 26 points on 12-of-14 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds. A lot of his success comes from setting up and pick-and-roll offense through Paul and Harden. This series proved that Towns was not able to muscle through a series with Capela.